‘Takedown’: 16 people charged in ‘major’ fentanyl and cocaine trafficking ring in southeastern Mass.

BOSTON — Federal, state and local authorities have arrested 16 people after a ‘takedown’ of a ‘major’ fentanyl and cocaine trafficking ring in southeastern Massachusetts, the Attorney General said Friday.

Police made the arrests after executing search warrants at 20 locations throughout Fall River, Taunton, Raynham, Norton, Pembroke, and Falmouth on Tuesday and Wednesday, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement. Most of the arrests happened in Bristol County.

During the searches, law enforcement seized approximately 2,360 grams of cocaine, 1,364 grams of fentanyl, 33 firearms, multiple high-capacity magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and $109,355 in US currency.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is at least 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, prosecutors said.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2024 Threat Assessment, “fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced, killing nearly 38,000 Americans in the first six months of 2023 alone.”

The joint operation involved more than 200 law enforcement officers, including members of the Massachusetts State Police Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team, or CINRET, Homeland Security Investigations, and several local police departments, Campbell said.

“Operation No Love” began in March 2024, when members of CINRET-South, consisting of troopers and Brockton and East Bridgewater officers and a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, initiated a narcotics investigation into a fentanyl and cocaine trafficking ring in Bristol County.

An undercover state trooper was able to successfully conduct nine controlled drug purchases with a member of the drug trafficking ring, Campbell said.

With the controlled purchases as a starting point, the investigative team used a combination of physical and electronic surveillance, toll analysis, and court-authorized electronic intercepts of target cell phones, to identify the ring’s hierarchy, primary participants, communication devices, vehicles, methods of operation, and sources of narcotics supply.

Investigators subsequently obtained search warrants for 11 locations in Taunton, two locations in Raynham, four locations in Fall River, and one location each in Falmouth, Pembroke, and Norton, Campbell said.

On Tuesday morning, the investigative team, comprised of nearly 200 law enforcement troopers and police officers, executed the warrants.

As a result of the search warrants on Tuesday, investigators seized approximately 2,280 grams of cocaine, 336 grams of fentanyl, 32 firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, high-capacity magazines, and $109,355 in suspected drug proceeds.

On Wednesday, Fall River Police and CINRET investigators received further information regarding one of the target locations in Taunton. Members of CINRET, assisted by a Quincy Police narcotics K9, returned to the location, conducted a subsequent search, and located a loaded Diamondback 9 mm pistol, 1,028 grams of fentanyl and 80 grams of cocaine, prosecutors said.

The following 16 people were arrested and arraigned in various District Courts:

Fall River District Court:

Yosef Ali, 49, of Fall River

Trafficking in Fentanyl, 100 grams or More (1 count)

Trafficking in Cocaine, 200 grams or More (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $75,000

Jean Carlos Castillo Mendoza, 44, of Fall River

Trafficking in Fentanyl, 100 grams or More (1 count)

Trafficking in Cocaine, 200 grams or More (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $150,000

Taunton District Court:

Jorge Santiago, 36, of Taunton

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class B Substance (2 counts)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $20,000

Jorge Arce, 46, of Taunton

Trafficking in Cocaine, 200 grams or More (1 count)

Trafficking in Fentanyl, 36 grams or More (1 count)

Possession of Ammunition without FID Card (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $100,000

Neftali Torres, 51, of Taunton

Trafficking in Cocaine, 100 grams or More (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $25,000

Christopher McLaughlin, 43, of Taunton

Trafficking in Cocaine, 18 grams or More (1 count)

Trafficking in Fentanyl, 18 grams or More (1 count)

Held without Bail

Shawn Roias, 35, of Taunton

Trafficking in Cocaine, 200 grams or More (1 count)

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class D Substance (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Possession of a Large Capacity Feeding Device (1 count)

Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony (1 count)

Bail set at $25,000

Courtney Whitmore, 27, of Taunton

Trafficking in Cocaine, 200 grams or More (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $10,000

Val Bettencourt, 50, of Taunton

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class B Substance, Subsequent Offense (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $10,000

Brayton Crites, 26, of Taunton

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class A Substance, Subsequent Offense (2 counts)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $20,000

Andrew Williams, 27, of Raynham

Trafficking in Cocaine, 18 grams or More (5 counts)

Trafficking in Cocaine, 36 grams or More (2 counts)

Distribution of a Class B Substance (3 counts)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $25,000

Sabrina Cohen, 27, of Taunton

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class B Substance (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $1,000

Lucas Guimaraes, 29, of Norton

Trafficking in Cocaine, 36 grams or More (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $25,000

Brian Szakaly, 27, of Raynham

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class B Substance (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony (1 count)

Bail set at $15,000

Falmouth District Court:

David Brasil, 45, of Falmouth

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class a Class B Substance (1 count)

Possession of a Class C Substance (1 count)

Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Bail set at $500

Mary Hunt, 59, of Falmouth

Possession of a Class B Substance

Bail set at Personal Recognizance

Lucas Guimaraes will also be arraigned at a later date out of Attleboro District Court on the following charges:

Trafficking Cocaine, 100 grams or more (1 Count)

Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony (1 Count)

Possession of a Firearm without FID Card (1 Count)

Possession of Ammunition without FID Card (1 Count)

Assisting with the investigation were troopers with the State Police’s Special Tactical Operations Team, Gang Unit, Narcotics Section, Community Action Team, Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, Technical Services Unit, Troop D Detectives, Fraud ID Section, CINRET-North, and State Police Detective Units assigned to Campbell’s office and the Plymouth, Bristol, Norfolk, and Cape and Island County District Attorneys’ Offices; agents with Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and members of police departments in Brockton, East Bridgewater, Norton, Fall River, West Bridgewater, Falmouth, and Pembroke.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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